Yesterday I met with my friend Vickie, who started Nafisika Trust. Most of you that have read my blog before know that Nafisika is the group working in the prisons here in Kenya. Every time I meet with Vickie I leave encouraged. I am not only encouraged by the amazing work they are doing, but also by the incredible work Tatua is doing. Vickie and I met to finalize plans for an event we are having this Saturday at Dagoretti Children's Center. DCC is a remand center for girls and we are hoping to spend Saturday just getting to know the girls and see what their needs are to determine how Nafisika can begin a partnership with them.
As we were talking I could tell Vickie was exhausted and exhilarated all at once. She kept telling me about all of the meetings she was having with important people AND that at each one she used the skill of Public Narrative, which is taught in community organizing! She was thanking me because Tatua taught her that skill. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with me, but I told her I would pass her thanks on and I thanked her for reminding me how grateful I am to be a tiny part of this work.
I asked her how she was doing and she looked at me and said, "I do not know how I ended up here. I do not know how this work is getting done and how we will continue to do it." It just seems crazy how many big things are happening in Kenya right now. So many communities are coming together to support projects that they, themselves, want and need. Vickie told me that everyday she just asks God what to do next and when something seems impossible, which most things do, she prays and she trusts that God will come through. I can say the same thing for Natalie. At Tatua immense things are happening and communities are transforming and embracing their power.
This work is not easy and would be impossible to me without faith. Natalie and Vickie are two shining examples for me of what it means to have faith and a belief in the mission of God. Everyday I start to see more and more how important it is and will be to change the face of aid around the world. I go home in just 2 weeks and with me I am bringing a new outlook with a desire to live out the motto of Tatua - "Exposing the power of ground-up solutions."
This month Tatua is participating in an online fundraising competition on Global Giving. Donate here today to help launch the campaign in the Ngong community and send over 1,000 kids from the streets back to school! To learn more, here is a video of one of the Ngong leadership team members talking about her experience so far working with Tatua.
As we were talking I could tell Vickie was exhausted and exhilarated all at once. She kept telling me about all of the meetings she was having with important people AND that at each one she used the skill of Public Narrative, which is taught in community organizing! She was thanking me because Tatua taught her that skill. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with me, but I told her I would pass her thanks on and I thanked her for reminding me how grateful I am to be a tiny part of this work.
I asked her how she was doing and she looked at me and said, "I do not know how I ended up here. I do not know how this work is getting done and how we will continue to do it." It just seems crazy how many big things are happening in Kenya right now. So many communities are coming together to support projects that they, themselves, want and need. Vickie told me that everyday she just asks God what to do next and when something seems impossible, which most things do, she prays and she trusts that God will come through. I can say the same thing for Natalie. At Tatua immense things are happening and communities are transforming and embracing their power.
This work is not easy and would be impossible to me without faith. Natalie and Vickie are two shining examples for me of what it means to have faith and a belief in the mission of God. Everyday I start to see more and more how important it is and will be to change the face of aid around the world. I go home in just 2 weeks and with me I am bringing a new outlook with a desire to live out the motto of Tatua - "Exposing the power of ground-up solutions."
This month Tatua is participating in an online fundraising competition on Global Giving. Donate here today to help launch the campaign in the Ngong community and send over 1,000 kids from the streets back to school! To learn more, here is a video of one of the Ngong leadership team members talking about her experience so far working with Tatua.
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